Zug and Baar, Switzerland (Part1)

 

I'm about 30 miles from Zurich and the well-to-do communities of Baar (population 24,000) and Zug (population 30,000) are right next door to each other. Nice colorful flower display in downtown Baar. 

Saw this guy atop someone's garage.

I wonder what he's thinking? 

In this region when there's a newborn baby I've many times seen displays like this. 

This is part of the old town area of Zug. Baar and Zug are in the canton of Zug. Cantons in Switzerland are similar to states in the USA. Many media outlets rank Zug as the wealthiest town in Switzerland. Why? Taxes. Cantons in Switzerland set their own tax rates and Zug has the lowest. Thus, thousands of corporations, private-equity firms, commodity traders and asset management firms are domiciled here. I found this out first-hand more than 20 years ago when cycling around the world visiting corporate headquarters. I had several companies to visit and upon arriving at the addresses--there was no physical head office but, mail-drops. 

Zug has three fountains like this one. They date back to the mid-1500's. These were a way of showing off a town's wealth.

Standing at the fountain in the previous picture I look to the right and see the sign for Seba Bank. Hmm,  hundreds of banks around the world have branches in Switzerland, could this be a bank from Serbia? Also, lots of Russian enterprises (over 40) are based in Zug due to the low taxes.  Of course I end up walking inside to find the answer.

Wow, back in 2019 SEBA bank was awarded by the Swiss financial regulator a banking and securities dealer license--becoming one of the first "crypto banks" in the world. 

The lunchtime crowd enjoying outside dining in Zug's medieval old town.

Those three nude characters seem to be catching some rays.

What the heck? Here's another one of those newborn baby signs this one celebrating the birth of Matteo. However, upon closer inspection I see the date "2019". Come on, take it down, it's been three years. 

Another colorful fountain. Can't figure it out if it's holy figure. 

Boy holding fish. 

Last of the three 16th century fountains.

This is his backside. 

Appenzell, Switzerland

 

I'm in the northeastern part of Switzerland in the canton of Appenzell. In the USA we have states, in Switzerland the have cantons--26 of 'em. 

The canton of Appenzell has the smallest population of all the cantons (16,000). I'm in the village of Appenzell, (population 5,500) also the capital of Appenzell--got it?

The rolling hills surrounding Appenzell are picturesque. 

The village is car-free and tourism is the big business here with its shopping streets filled with beautiful half-timbered buildings.

This is Appenzell castle in the village enter. It dates back to 1583 but it's privately-owned and tourists aren't welcome. 

Lots of stores selling nik-naks. 

Need a gnome?

About six miles out of town the road ends. In all my years of traveling I've never seen so many hikers. 

I counted more than 500 cars in overflowing parking lots

What's the lure?

You can hikes in all kinds of directions. From what I'm told there're several lakes each, about a 40 minute walk/hike. 

So many families out and about.

You can catch the gondola here and it'll whisk you up the mountain.

Lots of paragliders in the area. 

Had to stop at this colorful bakery/restaurant. 

St. Gallen, Switzerland

 

I'm in the northeastern part of Switzerland and St. Gallen, population 75,000, is its largest city.  

The shopping area in the old town. 

Check out the wood carving of the man.

Looks like this fountain is a bird nesting site

Backside view of St. Gall Cathedral.

Front of St. Gall Cathedral. It's 8:30 in the morning and the sun hasn't risen all the way.

Baroque interior of cathedral. 

Jeez, I entered the cathedral via a side door and caught this sign exiting the building. 

This Abbey of St. Gall, a four building complex (including the cathedral), dates back to the 9th century and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

Impressive fountain. 

This funicular has been whisking locals up the steep hillside since 1893.

Zurich, Switzerland

 

My bike and I have been to Zurich (population 415,000) dozens of times. My first order of business: making a stop at my favorite Italian pastry shop. Though not very big, Zurich has a Little Italy area.

As usual I get several cannoli.

Google recently moved into a complex of office buildings in downtown Zurich right next to the main train station.

No giant Google signs atop the buildings but, small signs near the building entrances. Almost 5,000 Google employees work in these buildings-the largest number of employees on one site--other than their head office/campus in California.

When I say the Google complex is right next to Zurich's main train station-I'm not kidding. Those are several of the Google buildings. One of the busiest train stations in Europe, I'm sure that was factored into Google's decision. It's a three minute walk to the station and a train will have you arriving underneath Zurich's airport in 15 minutes. 

Cycling around Zurich neighborhoods I'm always amazed at the outdoor sculptures people have in their yards. Here's a metal wind-surfer.

I'd like to know why the occupant of this apartment has a wood sculpture of a vulture on the balcony. Why not an eagle? 

These wood carvings reside atop someone's garage. Looks like they're checking out people passing by. 

This is very strange. I'm cycling past a farm and see all these high-heel women's shoes nailed onto the wooden fence posts. I count a dozen. 

One of the posts sports three pairs of men's shoes. Is it a family squabble? A prank? A his and hers territory dispute? I do know each shoe is filled with cobwebs and who knows what else. 

This farmer has set-up this self-service display along a cycling route. Those are muffins in the basket. I past it the next day and saw homemade bread. Check out the turquoise cash box--it's not bolted down. 

I see lots of ladders for cats but, this one is unusual. How do I know it's a cat ladder? If you look closely at the top (beneath the greenery) there's a black and white cat looking at you. I tried coaxing it down the ladder but if gave me one of those "who the hell are you?" looks.